Are there any melodies that havent been played?

musicismylife78

interesting question

As music has existed since the beginning of time. Are there really any new riffs or chords, verses, or melodies that havent been played or recorded?

People post all the time, about NIN new one sounding like Last Exit or the new metallica sounding like such and such. Tom Petty said Californication sounded like Last Dance with Mary Jane. The whole controversy over George Harrison's my sweet lord.

But in reality isnt it likely that there isnt anything that isnt copied or that has been done or heard before

catch22

statistically, i'm guessing not. hell, i feel like even lyrics and band names have to be low on material. think about all the rock songs on all the albums by all the bands made in the last 50 years. does anyone really believe a guitar-bass-drum outfit can come up with a tune that has never been heard before? it's absurd.

originality is overrated.

xSmackSoundx

Depressing thread

musicismylife78

its also an interesting idea. I will have to ask the songwriters or musicians on the board to answer. When you come up with a song or melody, how do you know its not a riff you heard before?

if your like me, i listen to music all the time. It is my existance so its plausible the music sort of is literally part of you. becomes part of your dna. Sort of what ed talked about at the REM Hall of Fame speech, and what REM meant to him

NewDamage

Soundgarden was able to do it. Tell me a song you've heard before or since that sounds like "Burden In My Hand."

When you experiment with the most fucked up tunings one can imagine, you can come up with something fresh-sounding

lucylespian

About 200 hundred years ago, a friend was complaining to the composer Hadyn that all teh good music had already been written, while walking along a shoreline.

Hadyn replied " oh look, the last wave has just broken"

Statistically, teh phase space of possible melodies, given the contraints of the Western music system is so vast that we will never run out.

Finding the new melodies among the old ones is a different story, kinda like looking for the one remaining chocolate in a box full of empty wrappers.

justam

radiohead33 wrote:

interesting question

As music has existed since the beginning of time. Are there really any new riffs or chords, verses, or melodies that havent been played or recorded?

People post all the time, about NIN new one sounding like Last Exit or the new metallica sounding like such and such. Tom Petty said Californication sounded like Last Dance with Mary Jane. The whole controversy over George Harrison's my sweet lord.

But in reality isnt it likely that there isnt anything that isnt copied or that has been done or heard before

There are an infinite number of melodies. Don't worry!!

Kann

radiohead33 wrote:

its also an interesting idea. I will have to ask the songwriters or musicians on the board to answer. When you come up with a song or melody, how do you know its not a riff you heard before?

That you can never know as the subconscious is a shitty thing, so you have to play to different people to ask them what they think.
As for finding new melodies, the combinations between your rythmic base and your melody is so vast that we're not running of new stuff anytime soon. Writers just need to work a little more.

Jack_C_Gregory

I'd say the "No Wave" (not to be confused with New Wave) era of music had some interesting and original sounds.

Julien

i often think about that..
I sometimes say to myself that all melodies have certainly been played but each time I buy a new album, I hear new melodies...